---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By…"
description: "\"“Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word, The coward does it with ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/oscar-wilde-16_1897_yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by_86721.jpg"
---

#  Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be…

![“Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word, The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword! Some kill their love when they are young, And some when they are old; Some strangle with the hands of Gold: The…” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/oscar-wilde-16_1897_yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by_86721.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/oscar-wilde-16_1897_yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by_86721.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/oscar-wilde-16_1897_yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by_86721.jpg)

> ““Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word, The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword! Some kill their love when they are young, And some when they are old; Some strangle with the hands of Gold: The kindest use a knife, because The dead so soon grow cold. Some love too little, some too long, Some sell and others buy; Some do the deed with many tears, And some without a sigh: For each man kills the thing he loves, Yet each man does not die.””

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People destroy what they cherish in varied ways—through cruelty, flattery, cowardice, or bravery—yet they themselves survive.

**In simple terms:** Love can be self‑destructive

Key Takeaway

Love often leads to its own demise

Themes

love self‑destruction human nature mortality

Mood

melancholic thoughtful

Type

poetic aphoristic

When to use this quote

- examining toxic relationships
- reflecting on personal sacrifices

Key Concepts

psychology philosophy

Practical Applications

- literary analysis
- therapeutic journaling

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do we sometimes harm what we love?
- Is the act of killing love a form of self‑preservation?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/)

## Related quotes

> [Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by-each-let-this-be-heard-some-2/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Yet each man kills the thing he loves By each let this be heard Some do it with a bitter look Some with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by-each-let-this-be-heard-some-3/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“No need to waste the foolish tear, Or heave the windy sigh: The man had killed the thing he loved, And so he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/no-need-to-waste-the-foolish-tear-or-heave-the-windy-sigh-the-man-had-2/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“And all men kill the thing they love, By all let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/and-all-men-kill-the-thing-they-love-by-all-let-this-be-heard-some-do/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“The man had killed the thing he loved, And so he had to die. Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-man-had-killed-the-thing-he-loved-and-so-he-had-to-die-yet-each/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Yet each man kills the thing he loves from all let this be heard some does it with a bitter look some with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-from-all-let-this-be-heard-some/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“Each man kills the thing he loves. The coward does it with a kiss, the brave man with a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ludlam/each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-the-coward-does-it-with-a-kiss-the/)

[Charles Ludlam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ludlam/)

> [“A broken sword can be reforged. A broken sword can kill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/a-broken-sword-can-be-reforged-a-broken-sword-can-kill/)

[George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/)

> [“When you really believe that using sword can kill people, that's when you will be subject to the law of the sword, "those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-really-believe-that-using-sword-can-kill-people-that-s-when/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

> [“...wearing a turban of yellow, signifying knowledge, and a robe of purple, portraying purity and activity, Virchand Gandhi of Bombay delivered a lecture on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/new-york-times/wearing-a-turban-of-yellow-signifying-knowledge-and-a-robe-of-purple/)

New York Times

> [“But there is yet time to change our ways. Give up all those old discussions, old fights about things which are meaningless, which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/but-there-is-yet-time-to-change-our-ways-give-up-all-those-old/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [“Though our castes and institutions are apparently linked with our religion, they are not so. These institutions have been necessary to protect us as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-our-castes-and-institutions-are-apparently-linked-with-our/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [“Do you want to kill his love for you? What sort of existence will he have if you rob him of the fruits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/do-you-want-to-kill-his-love-for-you-what-sort-of-existence-will-he/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“We must also remember that in every little village-god and every little superstitious custom is that which we are accustomed to call our religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-also-remember-that-in-every-little-village-god-and-every/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [“Curiously enough, it seems that at times the spiritual side prevails, and then the materialistic side—in wave-like motions following each other. ...At one time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/curiously-enough-it-seems-that-at-times-the-spiritual-side-prevails/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

## More by Oscar Wilde

> [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

[Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

## More 1897 quotes

> [“Though our castes and institutions are apparently linked with our religion, they are not so. These institutions have been necessary to protect us as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-our-castes-and-institutions-are-apparently-linked-with-our/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [“We must also remember that in every little village-god and every little superstitious custom is that which we are accustomed to call our religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-also-remember-that-in-every-little-village-god-and-every/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [“But there is yet time to change our ways. Give up all those old discussions, old fights about things which are meaningless, which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/but-there-is-yet-time-to-change-our-ways-give-up-all-those-old/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [“...wearing a turban of yellow, signifying knowledge, and a robe of purple, portraying purity and activity, Virchand Gandhi of Bombay delivered a lecture on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/new-york-times/wearing-a-turban-of-yellow-signifying-knowledge-and-a-robe-of-purple/)

New York Times

> [“Curiously enough, it seems that at times the spiritual side prevails, and then the materialistic side—in wave-like motions following each other. ...At one time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/curiously-enough-it-seems-that-at-times-the-spiritual-side-prevails/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

Browse all 6 1897 quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word, The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword! Some kill their love when they are young, And some when they are old; Some strangle with the hands of Gold: The kindest use a knife, because The dead so soon grow cold. Some love too little, some too long, Some sell and others buy; Some do the deed with many tears, And some without a sigh: For each man kills the thing he loves, Yet each man does not die.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Oscar Wilde"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by-each-let-this-be-heard-some/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "1897"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by-each-let-this-be-heard-some/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/oscar-wilde-16_1897_yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by_86721.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/oscar-wilde-16_1897_yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by_86721.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/oscar-wilde-16_1897_yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by_86721.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a…” — Oscar Wilde",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Oscar Wilde",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Yet each man kills the thing...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by-each-let-this-be-heard-some/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/yet-each-man-kills-the-thing-he-loves-by-each-let-this-be-heard-some/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
